Arthur Morgan
by SnowStorm22
Summary: This is a story of Arthur Morgan, should he not have caught Tuberculosis, and should he have not lost to Micah on the cliff.
1. A fair warning

**So this story is gonna be about Arthur Morgan. Paying respects to him I guess. This is gonna be if everything was different. If he had not gotten TB, and won the fist fight after helping John escape (Because that is what I chose to do in the game).**

_**Arthur**_

"Mr. Strauss. What can I do you for?" I say.

"Ah, Mr. Morgan. How are you on this evening?" Strauss says.

"Do you really want to know or should we make this as quick as possible?" I say clearly irritated.

"Ahh right to business, I like that about you Mr. Morgan." Strauss says.

"I bet you do." I say exhaustedly. I sigh and take a seat next to Strauss. "What do you need?"

"Well It seems that... well my clients have failed to meet their due date once again…" He starts.

"Say No more Strauss, who are the poor Bastards I have to beat?" I say, once again, clearly irritated.

"A Mr. Thomas Downes owes US some money Arthur. Don't make it seem like it is cruel. It pays for the women and children to eat. I would do it myself but... you seem to be more persuasive with these things." He says in a manner-of-fact way. I light a cigar and take a deep hit, then blow the smoke in Strauss's direction.

"Fine. I do expect to be paid for this Strauss." I say looking at him with a seriousness.

"Food for the women and children is not enough?" Strauss says in an innocent manner. I just continue looking at him until he says, "Fine, fine you will be paid for this."

"Pleasure doing business with you Strauss."

"You too Arthur. Oh by the way Arthur, when I saw him last he had a bit of a cough. I suggest you cover up when you see him. That way you wont catch what he has, nor will you be identified." Strauss says. I think about that for a moment.

"Thanks Strauss. You are a life saver." I say sarcastically. But I do heed his warning and pull my bandanna on as I walk away from camp.

The ride was longer than I would have liked but I did make it. It is about midnight when I make it to Mr. Downes house. As I approach I see a light in the garden. A oil lamp is lighting the garden for who I reckon is Mr. Downes. I hop off of my Mustang I tamed a while back, Ford, and I approach the Garden.

"Mr. Downes." I say as I get closer. "You owe me and my friends some money." He looks at me and sees my masked face and terror fills his eyes.

"Look I don't have any money for ya." He says franticly. That seems to be the same answer they all say.

"Ain't that what you all say. Enough of a beating usually will work magic right? Suddenly you will have money or valuables then."

"No feller really! I ain't got no money, no nothing." He says. I look around at his house.

"I see you have a house. You coulda sold that." I say getting closer.

"Even if I were to sell it, it would not pay for all the debt I am in. He says. For a second I pity the man. That pity turns to rage as I realize he might be lying to me.

"Everyone has hard times feller, everyone gets the same treatment." As I finish saying this I send a fist flying to his gut. It hits and he lets out a wheeze. I throw him to the ground and jump onto him, and start hitting him. I start to think I am making unnecessary noise when a woman and a boy came out of the house. "Ma'am you and your son need to get back inside that damn house." Is all I say to her screaming and to his pleading. I slam Thomas against a wooden post. "Get me my god damn money Mr. Downes!" Is what I say. He starts coughing. He coughs blood onto my face mask. My response to this is a slap across his face, and then I walk back to Ford and begin my ride back to camp, letting the sounds of crying grow fainter as time passes.


	2. Old memories

**For those that have viewed my story I do thank you. If you have any suggestions I would appreciate if you let me know what you think I should add, or if there was a mistake I made then please do let me know. Commenting or messaging me in the PM's would help. Thank you all!**

_**Arthur**_

As I ride away I pull my mask off. The poor bastard was coughing blood and I beat him senseless. Some tough man I am. I sigh and try to put it behind me, but it keeps haunting me. That man, Thomas Downes, he really had nothing, and I beat him for it. Thats not what Dutch had taught me to do growing up. Then again, I would not be in a band of outlaws always on the run if it were not for Dutch so there is that. I can't help but think that maybe all this is not good for me. I think back to the letter I got from Mary. Maybe if I just could get one last job pulled. A big one. Maybe I can just go away with her. Then again maybe I am just thinkin' crazy again.

I arrive at camp and get off of Ford. As I walk through camp I hear Uncle's Voice call out my name in a drunken manner. _Can that damned idiot go a night without drinking? _I think to myself.

"Not now Uncle." I yell from across camp. I continue on and make my way to my tent. I decide to close off my tent by untying the flaps that kept it open. The flaps fell down gently. I reach under my bed and pull out a box of items I hold dear. I open it and see my letter I recently got from Mary. Everything I thought of on the ride here comes crashing back unto me so I just put it aside and carry on, going deeper into the box until I found a different letter. It was from some long forgotten deputy that came across the bodies of my son and my young wife. _**(For those of you that do not know, Arthur did in fact have a wife and a child at one point, you learn about it on the ride with Rain Falls as he makes you some medicine)**_ The letter says:

_To those whom it may concern,_

_The young female of 19 - 20 years of age along with her child have been found dead at this residence. The deputies and sheriff of West Elisabeth highly recommend that whoever found these two dear in their hearts, to not go hunting for the killers. For what we know they may be in contact with Colm O'driscall's Gang. We have buried the two under the great oak tree in the front yard._

_Our sympathies, _

_-The West Elisabeth Sheriff's department._

**(Note I did not find this letter in the game, I made it up. Please do tell me if any of you have found a letter similar to this in game.)**

I fold the letter up and put it away. The memory of when I found the graves... it still is painful. My little boy and my young wife both dead because of a robbery gone wrong. All they had was a petty ten dollars, and cause of that... well I ain't ever been the same since. Only fell in love with one other person since then, that being Mary. Hell I don't even pay the prostitutes at the saloon's any attention no more. Mary is the only reason I have left to be a good person. Imma find her tomorrow, and I will make things right for us again.


	3. An Old Friend

**I am surprised to see that so many people actually viewing this. I do thank everyone. Reviews would be appreciated, for it can help me know how to better the story and keep y'all entertained.**

_**Arthur**_

As I woke up in the morning I stretch, put my boots on, get my hat and guns. I walk outside and see an argument going on between Dutch and Hosea. That definitely does not look like something I want to be involved in. I head to the edge of camp and whistle for Ford, who comes running along. When he gets to me, I mount him and get ready to leave when John calls out to me.

"Hey Arthur you got a minute?" He says, getting closer. I sigh in aggravation.

"Alright, what do you want John?" I say. "This better be good." I add. He walks all the way up to me before he lets the worry show on his face. "What's the matter John?" I say out of pure concern now.

"It's little Jack. I think he has got a cold comin' on again. I don't want to be a bother, but it seems you are heading out. Do you think that you could get Jack some tonic, or medicine while you're out Arthur?" I take a second to think about it, and say:

"I would do anything for that little boy. Of course I'll do it John." I say, tipping my hat to him. I get ready to leave and he says,

"Here Arthur." And he tries to hand me a stack of bills. Obviously this is to pay for the medicine, and the favor, seeing as though he is giving me more than it costs for a tonic.

"No. I can pay for it. Just give Jack all the love that boy deserves." I take off after that. According to Mary's Letter, I should be able to find her at an inn just outside of Valentine. The thought of that makes my heart race a little, as much as I want to deny it. What Mary and I had died years ago. I should not be this affected by seeing her again.

I arrive at the Inn about a half an hour later. It looks like someone's house that is renting out rooms. I knock on the door and wait for someone to answer it. I see my reflection in the window right next to the door and I quickly scrub at my teeth as I look into the reflection. It was then that I heard movement inside the house. I went back to the front door and was taken aback to find some woman I had never met before open the door and point a revolver at me.

"Put your hands up mister, or imma be scrubbing this porch real well tonight." She says. I slowly put my hands up. "What business do you have here?" She asks.

"Ma'am I mean you no harm, I am just looking for a woman by the name of Mary. She sent me this letter saying she was here." I say, slowly reaching into my satchel. I had her the letter once I find it, and she looks it over. She was well distracted and if I wanted to, I could have pulled my revolver and ended her life right then, but I decided against it. Just as I banished the thought from my mind, she lowered the gun and handed my letter back to me.

"I am terribly sorry mister. There are just some nasty folk out there, you never can be too careful." She says with a slight smile.

"Ain't that the truth." I say, letting out a deep breath.

"I will go and get Ms Mary for you now." The inn keep says. Huh... Ms Mary. So Mary didn't marry? Thought she would have been taken by now. Half a minute later Mary comes out, seeing me with my back to her, looking out into the field in front of the Inn.

"Arthur... is that you?" Mary asks. At this I slowly turn, and look onto the most beautiful woman of my life.


	4. A Deadeye

_**Arthur**_

Mary was as beautiful as a goddess. Or, at least what I thought a goddess should look like. Seeing her after all these years... well it was like a blind man gettin' to see the sun for the first time.

"Why hello there Mary." I say, taking my hat off in respect.

"Oh Arthur!" She runs to me, and slams into me, embracing me. I can't help but hug her back, enjoying the moment.

"How've you been darlin'?" I ask. At this she just sobs. She holds me for a minute longer before letting go of me.

"I can't believe you came." She says. I almost said "I would come for you anytime" but I thought that just didn't sound right.

"Anytime darlin', anytime." Is what I end up saying. We both sit on the stairs of the porch and she fills me in on her life during the past few years. Most of it was filled with extravagances that I could not afford for Mary in the past. I looked on her hand, and she still had that silver ring with the garnet stone in it.

"You kept that lil' old thing after all these years Mary?" I ask, slightly surprised, but also filled with joy, and hope. She looks down on her hand and blushes to a deep beat red.

"Why, yes I have Mr. Morgan." She says giving me a slight shove. "It still means just as much to me now as it did when you gave it to me." She says in a matter-of-fact way.

"Well, guess I am glad you still like it Mary. Most amount of money I have spent on something so small." Yes, I did in fact buy that ring. Left the gang for a bit, made a working man outta myself. Saved up every penny for that ring. But tough times came, and I went back to my old life. Guess I disappointed Mary when I did that. She thought I finally changed. Hell, I thought I finally changed. Guess it just was not meant to be. I then get serious. "Mary, why... why did you come out here? Is something wrong? Is someone tryin' to hurt you?" I ask, with anger in my eyes.

"No, no Arthur it's not like that. Well I mean…" She says, hesitating.

"Mary... what is it?" I ask.

"Dammit Arthur, I need your help. I know I have no right asking, and after what happened before, well hell I would not expect you to want to help. But I really need your help right now Arthur. It is my little brother Jamie. He has gotten himself into some trouble with a cult of some sort... and he says he wants to stay but I just don't rightly know anymore. It seems like they are robbing him of his soul Arthur!" She finishes, bringing herself to a sob again. I shoulda known she needed some help. Why else would she come to me? I wasn't good enough for her parents or her it seems. Then again, last time I saw Jamie he was just a little guy. I taught him to ride a horse, along with some other things that I pray Mary does not find out about. He was a good kid. Sure, I hold some resentment towards Mary, but if I don't do this for her, then goddammit imma do it for him. Who am I kiddin? Of course in the end I will be doing this for her.

"Fine, I'll do it. I always liked him the most anyways." I say.

"Oh Arthur! You really mean it?" She asks, wiping a tear away that had just come with the new wave.

"Yes Mary," I say with a sigh. "I will do it. Where can I find this cult?" I ask. She tells me the directions, and of course it is on some mountain. What is it with people always gettin' in trouble on mountains or high areas? The ride there took a while, not gonna lie. But I did make it before Noon. Mary's parting words had been all I was thinkin' about the ride here. It was like a brand, seared into my brain I guess. She asked me not to kill no one, and to take her brother to the train station when I got him.

I get off of Ford and walk to the flattened out area at the top of the Mountain. Honestly it is more of a large, rocky hill than a mountain, but I was not gonna say that to Mary. As I got closer I heard them doing some sort of welcoming ceremony. I had to have been standing there for about a minute before someone noticed me and they all stopped.

"Ahh it seems that a guest has arri-" one of the freaks started sayin' before being cut off by Jamie, who stood up and said:

"Arthur is that you? What the hell are you doing here?" He was about to approach me for a hug when when there was a glint of realization in his eyes. "My sister sent you here didn't she? Well you can tell her to mind her own business! This is where I belong, and this is where I will stay!" He says in a rage.

"Listen Jamie I jus-" I say before being cut off.

"If you have the intention to harm this boy, or take him from us, well you will have to get through me!" One of the freaks say.

"Oh for cryin' out loud! I just want to take him back to his family. And you really don't look like you can beat me in a fight mister." I say to the freak. At this he realizes that I am more than right, and he draws a revolver. I draw mine too, and it is as if time slows down. It was always something I could do, for temporary amounts of time. Its like I am just faster than everyone else in this moment. I also can think about what usually takes me a few minutes to think about, in a few seconds whilst in this mode. In my journal I named this "Deadeye" after Dutch calling me a Deadeye with weapons. I thought about killing the man, but I don't want him to make me look bad with his corpse. Plus it would make Jamie not want to come back with me. So I instead shoot his revolver out of his hand. The freak looks astonished at this, and takes off running. Unfortunately so does Jamie. He runs off, saying a variety of things making me think I won't be able to convince him to come with me, and he jumps onto a horse. Me, spewing profanity jump onto Ford, and take off after him.

"You ain't gonna catch me old man!" he yells back to me. He has no idea he is within lasso range, but I decide against lassoing him. I know he would tell Mary and she would get pissed off at me. So I just keep up with him, but as we rode on I could feel Ford gettin' tired being pushed so hard, for so long.

"We're almost done pal." I say to Ford, giving him a pat. It was as if he had second wind cause Ford started pushin' himself even harder. It was not long before I heard a train coming, with the tracks just up ahead. Ford started slowing down, scared of the loud noise of the train, and Jamie made it across the tracks just before the train blocked my path. Sure I may have taught Jamie to ride, but I didn't treat him how to treat a horse. The horse he was riding, exhausted from being pushed so hard, bucks Jamie off. I hear Jamie yell "Shit!" as his horse runs away. I get off of Ford and give him a pat, then I walk towards the moving train, seeing the end of the train is coming.

"Arthur, why do you want to take me back?!" Jamie yells over the sound of the train. "Just go be like everyone else Arthur! My dad hates me, Mary thinks I hold her down, and you. You are prolly pissed off that you had to chase me down!" He yells. The train comes to an end and I go to lunge at him, only to be stopped when I see him draw a revolver. "Arthur, I don't want to hurt you." He says quickly. "But I don't want to live no more neither." And at that he starts raising his revolver to his head.

There was a flash, not from Jamie's revolver, but rather my Deadeye Kicking in. I quickly drew my revolver and shot his out of his hand as he had his revolver halfway up to his head.

"I ain't gonna let you die son." I say. "Sure your pops may be a rude, indecent bastard, but not all people are Jamie. I care about ya, so does your sister." I say. As I finish saying that, Jamie pulls me in for a hug, and I don't deny him this friendly embrace. He was sobbing, and after a few "There, there's" He came back to his senses.

"Well.." He says wiping his tears. "Lets go see my sister."

**Question of the chapter: Do you think that since Arthur has not contracted the TB virus, that he will get together with Mary? Let me know!**


	5. Another Chase

**Ok wow, looking on how many views this story has gotten, I am really surprised. I just hope y'all enjoy reading this as much as I enjoy making it. Thank you very much! A shout out to StrikeKT. You were the first person to favorite this story, and I wanted to show my appreciation.**

_**Arthur**_

We had been ridin' for about an hour now. We were not too far away from Valentine, but I still was taking it slow, for Ford's sake.

"Hey Arthur?" Jamie says. I could feel a question coming.

"Yes Jamie?" I say, looking back at him.

"Are you and my sister sweet on each other again?" He asks. I had feared he would ask this. Mainly because everything is so confusing, and I have no proper way of knowing how to honestly answer that question. I mean, Mary did trust me enough to hug me when she saw me again, rather than slap me, or somethin' along those lines. Then again, she did request for me to go to her, so she was in no position to slap me anyways.

"I dunno Jamie." I said honestly. "Times get tough for everyone, and I think your sister just really needed some help." I say. He simply says "Alright." And that is all that we spoke about that. As we got closer we could hear a train pulling in. "Dammit." is all I can say. Not because Jamie is going to miss the train, but rather he would get on with Mary and they would leave immediately, leaving me no spare time with her.

"I am sorry Arthur." Is what Jamie says to my comment. It was as if he could feel the same thing I was feeling. We got to just outside of the train station when we both get off of Ford. I don't bother tying him to a post, it would just make it so he couldn't come when I whistled to him. Plus it is not like he is gonna go anywhere. That is what I thought at least.

I hear a "Jamie!" As I enter the train station with Jamie. Both Mary and Jamie embrace each other. She looks at me as she is huggin' Jamie and she mouths to me silently a, "Thank you." They hugged for a solid minute, and the train started to blow it's whistle, indicating it was gettin' ready to leave. I quickly grab Mary's bag and take her by her hand as she let go of Jamie.

"Come on boy." I say. "Don't want to miss your train." I say, calling back to Jamie. I get Mary to the train, and help her up, then I proceed to help Jamie up, handing him Mary's bags after he was on the train. After this, I simply say farewell and start to walk away.

"Arthur!" Mary yells as the train starts moving. I turn my head back and look at her. "Thank you…" then, just as fast as she came back into my life, she was out of it. After her train was gone, I sighed and headed back to Ford. I had just walked out of the door of the train station when some bastard took advantage of Ford not bein' tied up, and started riding him away. I ran to the nearest horse and hopped on. Hearing a "Hey thats my horse!" I yelled:

"Just borrowin' it!" and I took off after Ford. When I say that this horse was slow, I mean it with all my heart. This horse had to have been treated like shit to be so out of shape. I just say fuck it, and I stab the horse with a horse revitalizer I was saving for Ford. As I do this, the horse picks up speed and seems to not be tiring out. This, I am grateful for, because now it may have a slight chance at catching up to Ford. I do start to advance, because the bastard seems to not know how to properly handle a horse. "Mister!" I yell. "I believe you have my horse! I want my god damn horse back you bastard!" The man laughs. That was a mistake. When he laughed Ford heard his voice, not resembling mine, and bucked off the thief, still going at maximum speed. I did take satisfaction watching him tumble on the ground. I had slowed down, and whistled for Ford who came running back. I dismounted the horse I was using and took out my lasso, and lassoed the thief as he was trying to get away. "You have made a terrible mistake feller." I say, pulling the lasso tight as I walk towards him.

As I got within five feet of him, he realized he was not gonna get loose from the lasso, and so he started pleading.

"Please sir, I am so sorry! Please let me go!" He says. I kick him in his stomach for talking. He has given me a headache. He yells in pain, which makes me kick him again. This goes on for about a minute before he understands that if he makes noise, well imma beat the shit out of him. I hogtie him at this point and call Ford closer to me. I pick up this thief and put him onto the back of Ford, and take my remaining rope and put it around the horse I borrowed. I then mount Ford and start the ride back to valentine. I returned the horse back to the man I borrowed it from, and gave him some cash for his trouble. He eyes the man on the back of Ford, hogtied, and gives me some of the money back.

"You did this town a favor sir." He says. I tip my hat to him and continue on to the sheriffs station. I get off of Ford at this point and I load the thief onto my shoulder and walk into the sheriff's station.

"Well what have we got here?" The deputy says to me.

"A horse thief, and a Handsome devil that stopped him." I say chuckling a bit. The deputy smiles and says,

"Well lets not get too cocky. Lets see…" he walks over to the bounty board. "Seems this one ain't got a bounty, and.. well unfortunately we are all full up." He says, pointing to the cells filled up behind him with his thumb.

"Well what the hell am I supposed to do with this maggot?" I ask. The Deputy looks around and sees he is the only officer in the room.

"Honestly feller, you can do what you want with him. We ain't got the room for him, and I am sure you can find a reasonable punishment for him right?" The deputy asks. I find myself awestruck. This deputy literally just gave me permission to do what I wanted to do. Hell I woulda done it already if I didn't have to get little Jack some medicine. I tip my hat towards the deputy.

"It was a pleasure." I say. I then walk outside, knowing that this day is gonna get better.


	6. Far from normal

**Heyo y'all. I am back with another chapter. Honestly it just feels good being able to come home, knowing that people are finally interested in what I do. I care about each and every person that pays attention to this story, whether they have it followed or not. I care about everyone that has this story under their favorites, and shit I care about everyone that does not even have it in their favorites. Thank you for at least reading this, it really has made life easier on me.**

_**Arthur**_

I load the piece of shit thief onto Ford. It was not until this moment that I thought of how much of a hypocrite I was. I was gonna beat this man senseless for stealing, which is exactly how I get my money. I dismiss the thought and lead Ford to the medicine shop. As I tie Ford onto a hitching post I holler to a man standing just outside of the medicine shop.

"Hey feller!" I call out to him. He looks my way and sees the thief on my horse, and he looks at me in a nervous fashion. "Don't you worry about him. Well, actually I do have a favor to ask you." I say, walking up to the man. "If you watch him while I go inside, and make sure he don't get away for two minutes, I will pay you well sir." I say to him. He had a look in his eye when I mentioned money. Everyone always does. I pull out some cash and show him, before he says:

"Okay mister, I'll do it." I give him ten bucks and tell him there'll be more when I come back out. Then I walk into the store. It does not look like much, but there were plenty of vials and bottles all around the store, so I knew there would be something I could find that could help little Jack. I approach the man and ask:

"You got any medicine for a cold?" I ask. He looks at me like I am asking for something I don't understand.

"You look just fine to me partner." He says, looking back down to the book he was reading. I swear the audacity some people have.

"It is not for me, it is for a child." I say. He does not look up from his book. "You listenin' to me feller?" I say, raising my voice. He looks up at me and says,

"We do not have any medicine for a cold right now, have a nice day mister." The way he said it made it sound final. I was not fixin to go back to camp with nothing.

"Well then I am sure you have something around this store right?" I say, pissed off. I walk to the back. "Hair tonic." I say, reading the label on a vial. I throw it to the ground and watch it shatter. This catches the attention of the clerk, and he starts yelling.

"What the hell are you doing!?" He asks. I pull another tonic off of a shelf.

"Strength tonic. Yeah I don't need that. Just need some medicine ." I say, smashing another vial. This continued until there were eight vials broken total and the clerk says:

"Okay, Okay! I have some medicine for a cold just back here, just please do not break any more of my wares!" I put on a smile and say,

"Now that wasn't so hard now was it? All you had to do was sell me some medicine and all woulda been fine." I walk up to the counter and see the vial he was referring to that simply was labeled, "Cold medicine". It is just what I was after. "How much for this vial?" I ask.

"This particular medicine would go for 10 to 15 dollars, but with those vials you broke you should have to pay about 150 dollars!" He says, still shook from what just happened. I slap fifteen dollars down on the counter, grab my medicine, and walk to the door.

"I ain't payin' for what was your fault feller." I say, then I exit the building. I already had the rest of the money out for the feller that I asked to watch the thief, who was still there waiting patiently. I hand him the money and thank him, and when he goes to ask me what just happened in the store, I say "Some people just are not bright. But you mister, you are. You did what I requested, and now you are being rewarded. He nods and asks nothing more. I ride back to camp, and just like I thought, I just had to encounter something else.

"You stupid fuckin' mutt!" Some man starts yelling as I get close to camp. I see a beautiful dog being kicked by the man.

"Hey! What the hell is the matter wit' you?!" I yell to the man, dismounting Ford. The man turns and looks at me. He then laughs and says,

"Pfft mister you just keep goin' this aint none of your concern." He then picks up a stick and turns to hit the dog with it. Time slows down and gains a golden tinge. I draw my revolver and shoot the man right in his hand. Everything returns to normal, and the man starts screaming. The amount of blood was... well it was sickening. Luckily he did not get blood on the dog. I walk up to him, and he is still screaming, holding his hand on the ground. I kick him and make him roll onto his back, and then place my foot on the man's chest, aiming my revolver at his face.

"I think it is my concern when this poor dog is bein' beat." The man just groans in pain. "What's this dog's name hmm?" I ask the dog beater.

"C- Cain" he says, whimpering almost as much as Cain.

"Well," I say, un-cocking the hammer on my revolver. "Cain is coming with me." The man nods his head rapidly, and I take some rope and tie it around Cain. I lead him back to Ford and we begin the slow walk back to camp.

* * *

We do get back eventually. It was about five o'clock. As I got back I heard a gasp from members of the gang. I was sure this would happen, for I have this thief on Ford, and a dog that I was walking. As I had been gettin' closer to camp the thief kept beggin' and pleading for me to let him go. He offered money, fame, fortune beyond my wildest dreams. I slapped him a few times on the way to camp.

Dutch approaches me and asks, "Well what happened Arthur?" knowing that I would only come back with a hostage and a dog for a select few reasons.

"This man here," I say, pointing to him behind me with my thumb. "He tried stealin' Ford here." I finish saying. Dutch nods, and then looks down at Cain.

"I thought you were done with dogs after Red Arthur... why do you have this pooch here?" He asks. I sigh, Red was a good dog. Them god damn O'driscolls killed Red. Shot him dead on the spot. I went off and killed every single last one of them boys, but the hole left in my heart from that dog was never filled.

"Found a feller on the road, on the way here. He was beating poor ole' Cain here. I was thinkin' of giving him to little Jack. He can keep him company, and it can give Abigail a break from worrying about Jack." I tell him. Dutch Nods and turns around, gettin' ready to announce to everyone about the new addition to our gang, and the horse thief. I grab Dutch on the shoulder. "Dutch," I say, lettin' him turn around.

"Yes Arthur?" Dutch asks.

"Maybe it would be best if... if we told them that Cain is a stray? I don't want Jack to have to learn about how cruel this world is yet." I say. I expect Dutch to laugh or tease me. Instead he looks at me in a serious manner.

"Of course Arthur. You've done so much for everyone here, I can do you this favor. I understand where you are coming from." He says.

I walk away after thanking Dutch, and walk towards John's tent.

"Here you go." I say, handing John the medicine.

"Oh thank you Arthur! I... I want to be a better father for him." John says. I think back to my own son I had. If I had been a better father, he would still be alive.

"Anytime John. You just be a better father. I know what the worst thing that can happen is, from not being a good father. It ain't pleasant." John sticks out his hand for a shake, and I take it in mine. After that I walk out of his tent to see Bill and Lenny tying up the horse thief to a tree. At this, I chuckle a bit. I then head to my tent, exhausted from the long day that I had.

Before I go to sleep I think about my day. I met Mary Linton again, saved her brother from some freaks, and from himself, stopped a horse thief, broke some tonics in a shop, and shot the hand of an animal abuser. I smile, knowing that my life is certainly far from normal. Then I go to sleep.


	7. A Jackass

**Heyo, sorry I have not done another chapter in a while. Work, school, hell even this hurricane really impacts when I can write, but fear not! I will try posting more.**

_**Arthur**_

I wake up and know something ain't right. There was a bunch of shoutin' and hell, it sounded like fightin' as well. I dress quickly and head out of my tent to see the entire camp in panic. I look to where the most chaos was, and sure enough Micah had something to do with it. From the look of things, Micah gutted that thief we had tied up, and he thinks he ain't done nothing wrong. I just look his way in disgust, shaking my head. Thats when I looked to my right and saw little Jack, just staring at the body.

_Fuck._ I think. This little boy has to see death so young. I swear if Jack ends up in, one of them.. you know.. "mental institutions" for them crazy folk... well imma kill Micah myself. Not that there is anyone here that would let them take Jack away to the crazy house. Apart from Micah maybe.

"Hey Jack, how about you come with me?" I ask him, trying to get him away from here.

"Where are we going Uncle Arthur?" He asks me, breaking his stare with the Corpse. I sigh and think for a moment.

"You ever been fishin' Jack?" I ask him. He thinks for a moment before responding,

"No I don't think so." I chuckle a bit and say,

"What!" In an exaggerated way. "Well that's gotta change little man!" I say to him. "Go get that pole that Hosea made ya, and we will get going." Jack laughs and runs off to get his pole. I see Abigail a few feet away talking to Lenny.

"Hey Abigail, can I talk to you for a moment?" I ask. She looks up at me from her conversation she was in. She nods, gets up and walks over to me, out of earshot of everyone.

"Yes?" She asks me.

"Abigail, I am gonna get Jack outta here as they get rid of that body." I say, looking towards the body that Micah was now looting. The dumb bastard doesn't seem to know I already looted him before bringing him into camp. Abigail looks at me and says,

"You know Arthur, that sounds like a good idea. He has been cooped up here for a while, and Micah being the dumb ass he is.. well I don't want Jack around him. Especially right now." She says. I nod, and Jack comes running back from his tent with a small fishing pole.

"Mommy!" He calls out to Abigail. "Uncle Arthur said he would take me fishing!" She scoops him up into her arms, talking to him.

"You go catch a big fish baby. Have a good time." She says. He was already running off to Ford as she was saying that. "Please do take care of him Arthur." She says, with desperation in her eyes. Jack is her life now, I know it, she knows it. Hell everyone knows it.

"I will keep him safe Abigail. I promise you that." I nod to her, and get onto Ford, helping Jack up afterwards.

* * *

I took him not too far away, and after I got some cheese on his hook as bait, well, the kid is a natural. He had to of caught the biggest Bluegill I have ever seen. Unfortunately he did not seem to understand just how good he was doing, and he got bored, going of playing with some flowers.

"Whatcha doin' there Jack?" I asked him. He was connecting the flowers in a chain of sorts.

"I am making a flower necklace for mommy!" He said with enthusiasm.

"Well ain't that just beautiful." I say. "I am sure she will love it Jack." He beams at me. I stand up, dust off my pant legs, and hear the "Click" of a twelve gauge double barrel shotgun hammer get pulled back. I know for certain that it has to be a double barrel, for mine makes that same damn noise.

"Mr. Morgan." I hear. I slowly turn.

"Who's askin'?" I hear a chuckle, and I would laugh too if the situation was not so dire.

"I am agent Milton, I am just a detective of the Pinkerton agency." _How fuckin' perfect. _"I just want Van der linde. If you tell me were he is, well I can ensure that you will get plenty of money. You will be set for life, not to mention, pardoned for your crimes." He says. I would kill this bastard if his buddy was not pointing a twelve gauge at me. Not to mention Jack being here.

"Listen, that offer sounds real nice feller, but I haven't seen Dutch in forever. I just been working, making a living for myself and my boy here." I say, pointing to Jack. "I ain't about that life no more sir." The detective looks unconvinced.

"Well there was a train robbery up North... it sounds a lot like Dutch." He says, studying my face for any break in my defense.

"Well feller, if I see him, I will be sure to let you know." I say.

"You know, you are a wanted man Mr. Morgan. There is a five thousand dollar price on your head alone."

"Five thousand!" I say in an exclaimed sarcastic way. "You reckon I can turn myself in for the reward?"

Milton just shakes his head. "You be careful now Mr. Morgan. After we get him, we will come for you." At that, both he and his friend turn around and go the way they came from.

"Who were those men?" Jack asks me. I sigh.

"Those were some bad men Jack. Thats okay though, they won't hurt us or your mama." I say to him.

"What are we gonna do now Uncle Arthur?" Jack asks. I look at him.

"I think we are gonna go pack up Jack."


	8. A dream of Tahiti

_**Arthur**_

I had quickly gotten packed up and Jack and I mounted Ford, taking off. So much was goin' through my head. The past couple days have been full of one unexpected thing after another. I just can't have Jack getting caught up in this. Before all of this is done, I will make sure him and his parents get out of here.

"Who's there?" I heard a voice call as I got close to camp.

"It's me and Jack, John." I say calling out to Marston. "Head back into camp, we got a problem." I say, calling back to John. As I got into camp, dismounting Ford and then helping Jack off, **(Oh my lord. Jack off. hehehehehe I sure do have a way with words.)** Dutch approached me.

"How about you go give that pretty necklace to your mama while me and Uncle Dutch talk, Okay Jack?" I request of Jack. He nods his head and runs off to his mama, showing her the necklace of flowers.

"Whats going on Arthur?" Dutch asks.

"Some Pinkerton Agents found me while Jack and I were fishin'." I say. Dutch realizes what I am saying and his eyes fill with worry.

"Goddammit! How did they know we were here? Did they follow you?!" Dutch asks in a panic.

"Don't worry Dutch. We were not followed, I told em' I have not seen y'all in a minute. They obviously didn't believe me, but they did leave. Dutch, we gotta get the hell out of here." I say.

"Do you think they will find us within the next couple hours Arthur?" He asks me. I think about this for a minute before saying,

"I don't think so Dutch. They seemed to be headed back west towards Strawberry and Blackwater. I don't think they will come get us today, but that don't mean that we should take the risk. You know?" I say, almost pleading for him to see my way. He takes notice to this and says,

"Arthur I think we should leave as well. I just think that we can do this whole train heist thing Karen was talkin' about before we do leave." Dutch says carefully. I sigh.

"Goddammit I am gettin' real god damn sick of robbing trains Dutch. I bet you are too." I say to him. He nods.

"I am Arthur. But if this train is as good as it sounds, we can be in Tahiti this time next week." He says.

"Tah-what?" I ask.

"Tahiti, Arthur. Tahiti is a paradise, beaches, palm trees, fruit growing from every plant. Arthur, I am telling you, Tahiti is where we can finally escape the law." Dutch says. It sounds amazing. I would love to go to this Tahiti place, but Dutch has claimed for the past couple of years that we just needed one more big heist and then we would be set.

"You best be right about this Dutch." I say. "Leave some here to pack up as us and our best gunner's do this heist." I say. A reluctant Sean suddenly speaks,

"Aye now, I want to come as well. There is no job to big or small for Sean McGuire. Plus it is an extra gun. Please, King Arthur, let me come." He says teasingly. I let out a groan.

"Sean you are still young. You sure you want to do this?" I ask him, already knowing the answer.

"You are god damn right I am, you best believe I am always ready for a fight." He says in a cocky way. _Fuck it. _

"Fine, you ride with the gang, I will meet up with y'all after I grab a few things." I say, heading to my tent. I let the flaps fall down, giving me privacy.

I reach under my bed and get my box, and grab a picture of Mary. Every time I go on a heist I take this photo and I put it in a pocket in my leather duster. After all these years I still ain't gotten over her, despite my best efforts to the contrary. I would have given that woman everything. But despite how much I love her, I know that I love the gang more. If I can't have her and the gang... well fuck. I know I need to make a choice. I made one all those years ago, trying to go straight for her. I became a working man and all it did was make me realize how much I love the gang. I get up, and head out.

* * *

"Hey English has joined us." Sean says, as I get close to the meeting place. I guess the train is supposed to be coming through here.

"Dutch." I say as I get closer. He comes over to me and we start talking about the plan he has. "Well who is the Bastard we are robbin' anyways?" I ask him.

"Cornwall, again." Dutch responds. I laugh at this.

"You know this Cornwall guy is not gonna be too fond of us when he finds out we have robbed not just one, but two of his trains Dutch." I say slowly. Dutch nods and says,

"I know, I already have a plan for that." He says. But he does not continue on.

"So you ain't gonna tell anyone this plan till we need a plan to get away from him, ain't you?" I ask. He just nods to this.

"Arthur I just need you to have some faith in me. I have a plan, I just need a little god damn faith." He says exasperated.

"Dutch, you know I will stick with you till the very end. You took me in when nobody else would, I just need you to know that I will always have your back." I say. He just chuckles.

"What if that Mary comes back. Saying how much she "Misses" the great Arthur Morgan. The fiercest gunslinger and "Lover" in the west, hmm?" I laugh at this.

"You know Dutch, I do think I still love her. But I do not think I love her as much as I love the gang." I say. He looks at me for a moment before saying,

"Me too pal, me too."

The sound of a train in the distance was getting closer. I look at Dutch, and then pull up my Bandana over my face. It is a new Black one, I had to get a new one after Mr. Downes bleed all over my last one.

"You ready Dutch?" I ask, looking at him. He pulls his bandana over his face.

"I always am Arthur."


	9. Crimes on the train

**So we have finally gotten 11 people that favorited this story. I must admit, I did not expect it to go so well considering how my previous Fanfictions have gone. So, Shout out time. Blue-Eyed-Dragon94, Crazystorymaker, Darth Huitzilopochtli, Joker infini, Nightwing1493, Ronin Kenshin, Saberius Prime, my dude StrikeKT, My fucking, like best friend ever Hihighing, Natalieeilish, And Oonstar. Y'all make it worth fucking waking up in the morning. I thank each and every one of you. **

_**Arthur**_

We mounted our horses and started riding after the train as it passed us. We figured it would be easier to take it from the back to the front. We did catch up to the train, they are rather slow to be honest, Ford could easily make it from Valentine to Emerald Ranch before a train could. I dismiss the thought and Jump onto the back of the train, being the last one to get on. Karen was not fucking around, this train was full of fancy rich folk.

"Attention everybody!" Dutch says as we burst through the first of many train cars. "This is a robbery! Cooperate, and you will live, if not well then... You will end up like the gentlemen outside that tried stopping us." Dutch says chuckling. All eyes turned to the door we came through, but nobody got to see what was in the caboose. A scattered whisper of "What happened to the guards?" And "They can't do this."

I looked to the man that said "They can't do this" and said,

"And just what do you think you are gonna do to stop us hmm?" He just looked at me, as if he wanted to say something. "Oh go on, spit it out tough guy." I say, taunting him. I have been not killing and injuring as little as possible. Robberies are times when I allow my pent up anger to burst.

"You just can't do this! You are stealing! You will not get away with this!" He says, clearly not understanding that we can in fact, "Just do this".

"Let me tell you what feller." I say, leaning closer to him. "We can, and will get away with this. How you act right now will determine how kind, and considerate I will be to you." I say. I hear Dutch laughing from behind me and whisper to Sean "Here we go again." The man tried saying something, but was cut short because I started hitting him with the handle of my revolver. "I told you, ya son of a bitch! Don't fucking talk!" I hit him again with my revolver, "And don't fucking resist!" I hit him once more, panting but filled with adrenaline. Robberies always made me feel great.

The man whimpered and threw his valuables onto the seat next to him, and cowered away towards the window. I took the money and threw it into a sack, moving down the Isle. Now either these rich people are brave, or insanely stupid. Either way, I had to hit three more people before they seemed to understand that this was very much real, and we were really taking their money. By time we had robbed every car, we had a grand total of four thousand dollars to split between us all and the camp. I just took a couple hundred bucks out of my sack and put it into my satchel. I throw my sack to Sean, who eagerly carries it, happy he was still helping out.

"Would ya look at all this money we have!" Sean says excitedly. I just shake my head and laugh. Sean narrows his eyes and says, "What in the bloody hell is that?" Looking out the window behind me. I knew when I heard the gunshot that someone was gonna be hit, and sure enough I was right. Sean was hit, but I didn't know how bad it was. He was yelling, so he can at least feel the wound, and he is not dead right at this moment so that is good.

"What the hell is going on?!" Dutch yells from up front.

"Sean is down!" I yell to Dutch. I look out a window and see multiple riders, and even see a caged wagon a little bit behind them. "Law men were doin' an armed patrol." I yell up to him.

"Well have you got them?" Dutch asks me.

"I'm on it goddammit!" I shout up to him. There is a slight flash, and time slows. I stand and Pull out two double action revolvers, and aim towards the bastards that shot Sean. There was four of em together on that side, and I felt a rush of pleasure. I quickly took down the first one with a headshot, shot the second in the head with my second revolver, and had the hammer already cocked on my first revolver by time it was guy number three's turn. I did in fact kill him quick, and then I shot the forth man two times in the chest, and watched him fall off of his horse.

I did not have time to admire my work, because a bullet narrowly missed my head, coming from the opposite side of the train.

"There's more on my twelve!" I yell to everyone. They seemed to understand, because all four men on that side had been shot, and had fallen off of their horses before I was done reloading my guns. That is something I always do. When I am safe behind something and I know I have time, I reload my weapons. It is called thinking ahead.

I sigh, and head up to the front of the train. I see Charles, who is still aiming his sawed off at the conductor of the train. "I got it from here Charles, you go meet up with the others, they should be bringing the horses up here." I tell him. He leaves and I point a revolver at the head of the conductor. "Sir, I am really not in a good mood right now. Please tell me you can follow instructions unlike those back there." I say, pointing behind me with my thumb. The conductor nods his head rapidly. He is sweating. He must be scared shitless. That would explain the smell. "Listen friend," I say, putting my revolvers back into their holsters. "Just stop the train, and me and my friends will be out of your hair in no time." He nods, and says "Hold on" before pulling a lever, having the train slow down to a stop. We had traveled a good distance since the start of the robbery.

I pat him on his shoulder and tell him "Good job." Complimenting him on his listening skills, before getting off of the train. I saw Charles get off as well, Along with most of everyone else apart from Micah and John who were bringing the horses. Just as I started thinking about the horses I heard the sound of hooves. We celebrated a bit, even Sean too, who had some cloth tied tightly around his shoulder. The horses came into view, and our hearts sank. There were riders on the horses, all sporting the five pointed star badges indicating they were deputies. Along came a wagon that was barred behind them.

"Fuck." I say. I look to Sean, Charles, Lenny, and Dutch. I gave Dutch a look, obviously asking him what we should do. He gave me a look indicating he was speechless. I look back to the riders, who got closer. There had to be ten of them, all pointing guns at us.

"Gentlemen, by order of the Sheriff of Lemoyne, You are under arrest. Put your hands up, or prepare to be gunned down where you stand."

**So I wanted to get this chapter out today, because I am not sure when I will be able to do another one. I may get another chapter out this week, but worse case scenario I will post a new chapter next week. Thank you all very much, have a blessed day.**


	10. A choice to be made

**Hehehe looks like I was mistaken, for I am back and the week has not yet ended. So, I really need help from y'all. I have had a few opinions given to me, but I want everyone's opinion. Arthur and Mary. Should they get together after this is settled? Honestly I think it was the TB that made Arthur want to become a good guy, and now he does not have it so... does he become a shithead? Let me know in PM's or on reviews.**

_**Arthur**_

_You have got to be shitten' me. _I think. I really can never catch a break. I look at the men pointing their guns at us. When I look at them, I have a flash back to all of the shit that has happened to me in my life. Ma and Pa died when I was young, ended up gettin' adopted by the gang. Years later I get a dog named red... he was a good boy. I got him when I met my first wife. Then she dies, along with my little boy by some fucking O'driscalls. A few years later they killed red as well. I fucking met Mary Lipton then, and thought life would be great until sure enough, life screwed me. Mary left me, and then came back begging for my help tearing at my heart. Then there is Micah. I don't like him one bit. Especially after I had to save his ass a few weeks ago from jail. That resulted in more death.

I think of all of this within a few seconds, and I think about the fact that none of this woulda' happened if it were not for Dutch. Don't get me wrong, I love the man. I just know that life could be so much simpler if he had left me the fuck alone. I look over at him. He has both of his hands in the air, obviously looking for some way out of this. I feel filled with rage. I look back to the men.

"Gentlemen!" I yell out to them. They obviously are taken aback that it was me that said something to them. They say the same thing they had been saying for a few minutes.

"Put your hands up, turn around, and slowly walk backwards to the sound of our voices mister." I chuckle.

"Gentlemen, I have had a very, very long day, and quite honestly, I have just had a bad month. I will let y'all go now peacefully and you wont have to worry about a gun fight if you just, turn 'round and leave." I say. I did not expect it to work, nor did the rest of the gang it seems. I hear some of the lawmen chuckle.

"This feller has just down right lost his mind!" One of them says.

"Put your hands behind your head!" Another says. at this, I get an idea. I put my hands behind my head and take a small step forward. I know I am in front of all the gang members now, and I know very well they can see my fingers, and the lawmen cannot. One one hand I put up three fingers.

"Slowly walk towards us without moving your hands." An officer says. At this, I take another step forward, changing my hand to two fingers. "Don't try nothin' funny now, and we can all get out of this alive." The same lawman says. I look at him and say,

"One." Changing my hand to show one, hidden from the officers view. Time slows down, and I hear gunshots, but they were not coming from the lawmen. I don't even turn to look cause I already know that the gang was firing. We had done this one other time. At Blackwater. Except it was Dutch that had been standing in my current position then. Still seeing everything at a slowed rate, I draw both revolvers and let my rage come out on these bastards. While we were lightin' them up, Lenny and Micah got Sean and put him into the train. So it was just Dutch, Bill, and I firing on them. Of course we took cover behind some boulders and trees, but that didn't make the situation any less intimidating. It was at this point I wondered where Javier was. Last I saw, he was on the train robbing with us. I did see him, it took me a moment but I saw him. God damn Javier was crawling on his stomach, on top of the god damn train. Yeah... he did get to a position behind the lawmen and when that happened, well he opened fire. They all had died at that point and I was just left speechless.

I got from behind my cover slowly, Dutch doin' the same.

"Javier!" I yell up to him. "What the hell was that?" He looks down at me.

"That my friend," He says, jumping down. "Was the high ground advantage." He says with a laugh. I let out a chuckle too, and help Sean out of the train.

"Well what a good fuckin' show that was!" Sean says. He looks towards the destroyed wagons. He squints his eyes and says, "Is there still a lad there?" Of course we all look and sure enough there was a man limping away from the wreckage. Javier goes to aim at him with his repeater, when I lower the barrel of his gun with my hand.

"I got him Javier." I say. I start jogging to the man, and when he sees me coming after him, he starts taking off.

"Hold up!" I say. Of course he does not "hold up". Nope he just keeps on. "Stop goddammit!" I yell, getting closer. Once again, he kept going. "I tried being nice!" I yell to him. I take out my revolver and shoot his uninjured leg. Of course he yells in pain, but what took me aback even more was the fact that he stared crawling away. This man wanted to live even more than I wanted to kill him. Usually that is how fights work. If you want to kill a man more than he wants to live, you usually win. If you want to live more than the man wants to kill ya, you usually live. Maybe that would have to change.

"Please sir!" He yells. "Please don't kill me! I don't even want to be a lawman!" He says. Now of course this intrigues me. This boy, cause that is what he is, a boy. He has to be about eighteen or, maybe nineteen. He says he does not want to be a lawman, and I can understand that. When I was a boy I was stealing everything I could, and fucking just about anything I could too if I am being honest.

"What do you mean boy?" I ask.

"I am just doin' it for the money. Ever since Pa died I have had to find a job. Bank said if we don't pay them, they were gonna take the house and farm. Also Ma and my Little Sister need money to live. It is a hard time mister, I meant no disrespect to you or your friends here." He says breaking into a full sob now. I sigh.

"I told someone this once before, and I will tell it to you as well. Hard times happen to everyone." I say, pointing my revolver at the boy's head, cocking the hammer.

**Aight so I will try and do a poll for this Chapter. Should Arthur spare this boy or kill him? Guess it just depends on if y'all want an honorable Arthur or a dishonorable Arthur. Let me know!**


	11. The German in need of help

_**Arthur**_

_What the hell am I doing? This boy does not need to fucking die. He just is tryin' to live. Wasn't that what I was tryin' to do when Dutch found me? _I sigh and look down on the kid.

"Whats your name boy?" I ask him. The boy, opening his eyes now looks hopeful. He knows he gets to live for at least another minute.

"Keith. Keith Hamilton." He says. I un-cock the hammer on my revolver.

"Well Keith, Whistle for your horse." I say. He gives me a puzzled look. "Goddammit Keith whistle for your fucking horse before I change my mind." I say to him. He does whistle, and a shiny chestnut colored Tennessee walker comes running to us. A beautiful horse, I had to admit. I offer my hand to Keith, and he takes it cautiously.

"Why are you doing this mister?" He asks as I help him onto his horse. I think about this before saying,

"I am just tired of hurting people Keith. I have done so many horrible things. We don't know how long we have on this earth, the least I can do is try to help people to make up for the horrible things I have done, and will do." As I finish my sentence I hand him a hundred dollars. A rather generous amount in my opinion, but he does need this money more than I do. If I get hungry I can just go and hunt, not everyone is able to do that. His eyes light up, and he says,

"Are you sure?" still looking very surprised. I think this is mainly because I went from shooting him in his leg to helping him get away and start over. Polar opposites.

"Yeah." I say. "Consider it compensation for your legs." I say. Keith nods and sits there awkwardly on his horse. "Get the hell outta here Keith. Go do something you actually want to do." I say, smacking the ass of his horse, watching it take off. I trust he won't say anything to anyone. If he does, then... well maybe I can fix everything I have done before that time comes.

"Alright everyone!" I say as I get back to the rest. Charles was now with us, he had brought all of our horses. "We need to get going, and we gotta move camp as well." I say. There were nods of approval. Clemens Point is where we were headed. A few days ago Javier and Charles were sent to look for a new spot. I went with them too, cause I had a feeling something was gonna happen. Sure enough something did go down. This is how it went.

* * *

We had just found this place that would have been perfect just a little ways off from Clemens point. Only thing that was really bad about it was that there was currently a drought, and when it rained again the entire camp would have been submerged if we camped there. Another thing is that there were dead bodies there. It was gruesome. We decided to see if anyone was at the destroyed camp. Javier thought he found them first, but I saw them first, I just didn't say nothin', waiting for him to catch up. A woman and a little girl were sitting under a wagon. They were terrified obviously, but it was how they were speaking that took me aback. It was a harsh language they were speaking, and what little english the woman could say was "My husband, they took." followed by her sobbing. I had to ask her which way they went, and she just pointed the way they went. With the help of Charles and I, all three of us easily found were these men were. It seemed nobody was home, and we quickly untied and un-gagged the struggling man. When we did this, he did say the one thing I did not want to hear.

"It's trap! Surrounded they have you!" speaking with his heavy accent. Sure enough, we were surrounded, and they did indeed try to kill us. We found that this location was very easy to defend from, and we killed every single one of the bastards. When they were all dead, I sent Javier and Charles to go and get the woman and little girl while I stayed and waited with this man. Once they got there, we helped the man to his carriage. He was speaking in the tongue that I could not understand, and he seemed frustrated that we could not effectively communicate.

"Danke, Fremder. Meine Familie und ich stehen in Ihrer Schuld." he says. he sees my puzzled expression and he says slowly, "Thank you, friend" at this he hands me a bar of gold. I could not believe what had just happened. I just tip my hat to him and say "thank you".

* * *

Like I said, that happened a few days ago, I dunno where that feller is now. What I do know is that I have enough gold to kill for. I feel foolish for not telling the gang... but I have been thinking about it. Dutch keeps goin off with this whole Tahiti thing, and sure it sounds nice... but I am not going to go with him after this is done. I did hear some fellers talkin bout this place called iceland except the place is not covered in ice. I hear there are no damn mosquitos there, which would be great compared to this shit hole of a country. Ahh what am I sayin... I will prolly die in this country, and I know it. Just gotta make the most of my time I suppose.


	12. Thinking of recent events

_**So I wanted to catch everyone up that has been following this story with what has been going on in my life. Basically this site is now blocked for me, and there are only a** few** ways around said block that I have found. Basically Imma have to write an entire chapter at once, and then upload it all at once, keep in mind, so that I don't lose access from the block. Anywhoozies, welcome back to those that are back, and Hello to all that are new!**_

_**Arthur**_

_Weeks had gone by. I had laid low for the most part. Mainly I just wanted to be done with all this. I don't want to be a bad person, but it seems that it is much more simple that way. I don't question myself when I am being cruel... it just seems so easy. I dunno.. I reckon that we all come to a point in our lives where we think about where we stand on the moral compass. _I stand up, and pat the dirt off of my knees. It is dawn. I found myself camped pretty far away from the gang on this morning mainly cause of Micah. That Bastard gets me heated, makes me wanna be the evil person a whole hell of a lot more. I have been doing more things with John, and it is evident that I gotta get him, his wife, and lil Jack outta here. Once again, its due to Micah. I don't think that anyone is really safe around him, he has been acting more and more on his own, thing is, most times his chaos ends up working, so he has grown on dutch. Seems almost as if Micah is his right hand man... So much has changed... I sigh, shaking my head. I look around and see Ford not far away, grazing on some grass.

"Hey boy." I say, giving him a pat. As of lately it seems its either John or Ford here that has my back. I give Ford a carrot before packing my setup away. I replay what happened before I left camp.

* * *

"Goddammit Micah! That's the last goddamn time!" I had yelled to Micah. John was gone, taking care of some things for the gang... Lil Jack decided he wanted to help Micah rebuild a wagon. I guess Jack handed him the wrong tool or somethin', cause Micah started hollerin about "A Uneducated son of a whore" before smackin' Jack on the back of the head, sending him into the mud. I rushed over to Jack, helping him up. Micah had his back to me, not even thinking that there would be repercussions from what he did. Of course I used this to my advantage, for as I have found out that fighting fair doesn't get you very far. I took my Revolver out and started "Pistol whipping" Micah over and over. He fell off his stool obviously, but what I did not expect was his reaction. He started crying, pleading, begging for his life. Now I had seen this man take a bullet and fucking laugh. I was confused that he was as frightened as he was, but as I stood up and looked around, I could tell why. Everyone was looking at me in shock, from the bucket of water Micah had near him to clean off the wagon, I saw my reflection. There was madness in my eyes, my hair was wild, and I looked like I wanted more.. but that aint what startled me so much.. no what startled me is that I **wanted** more. I wanted to end his life. I wanted to make it so that he could never hurt another person again... instead I made myself look like a madman, attacking members of the gang for no reason. Hell, it was only a few people that actually knew what Micah did. The rest just thought I got up and beat him senseless for no reason. It was alright though. It was alright cause I knew that he knew what he did. And you best bet your ass he aint laid a finger on that boy since. I did leave the camp shortly after that. Took my most precious items and got the hell outta dodge.


	13. Decisions

**So I am aware how I said I would be putting more content out, and then I disappeared for a while. My health had deteriorated even more, not to mention life in general keeps happening. So yeah I have a bit on my plate, but I will try to make time to put out a Chapter more frequently.**

_**John**_

When I heard what that Bastard had done, I almost lost it. Ain't nobody allowed to put their hands on my boy apart from myself and my wife. I woulda beat the shit outta Micah if Arthur had not been so kind to do it for me. Arthur has been gone a few days now and I am kinda worried. Been thinkin' about what he had said. Maybe it would be best to grab Jack and Abigail and just get the hell outta here. I don't know.. its a lot to take in. One thing I do know is I will put a bullet in Micah if Arthur doesn't.

_**Arthur**_

I had decided to leave camp. Headed to Saint Denis. There was a lot that had happened in between, but long story short I lived to see another day. I had gotten into the city and they damn near hit Ford with what they call a "Trolly". Its like a miniature train used to get around the city. There was a lot more prostitutes here as well. Despite having enough money, I declined them. Mary has been weighing heavy on my mind. I ain't seen her since I saved Jamie, and I honestly feel like I might go crazy. I had found myself wandering Saint Denis aimlessly. I ended up near the train station just as a train was pulling in. It looked similar to the one The gang and I robbed earlier in the year, Just with more people, and a hell of a lot more guns. As the train pulled to a stop, Men surrounded the train, loading bags and boxes, two men at a time hauling vaults into the train. I'm not gonna lie, it peaked my interest. I contemplated what to do for a while. I eventually decided I should head back to camp and tell dutch. As I went to leave the last thing I saw of the train was a distinct "Cornwall" written on it as it started pullin' away.

The ride back to camp was alright. I came across a feller that had his wheel fall off his wagon. Instead of robbing him, I helped. Dunno why, maybe I'm going soft, maybe I knew that I would want help if I was in his situation. A lot has changed lately. For whatever reason I am not feelin' what we are doin' anymore. I want to settle down. I sigh. If all had gone right I would still be married, still have a child, have a home... everything that I want now, I had at one point. My ignorance at the time made me feel that this was the life I wanted, rather then being with my family.. the only one since Dutch. I shake my head, ridding myself of these thoughts. They were buried long ago.

I saw the smoke from camp up ahead. Before I actually get to camp though, I cough like I had just downed a whole cigar in a second. It didn't take long for the fit to end, but it spooked me a little bit. Then again it could just be a cold. I had gotten off of Ford when my coughing fit had occurred. Thinkin' back on it, honestly it was a blessing in disguise. If it wasn't for me getting off of Ford, I wouldn't have seen them bastards. They had the Camp surrounded. Something about the situation was wrong, even more wrong then these pricks surrounding the camp. These men.. they were sheriffs, deputies, and the O'driscolls were working together. I'm not one who likes killing officers, but I feel in this moment there is no other option. I walk Ford to a place with cover so he won't be hit in the cross fire. I had a million thoughts running through my mind in that moment. I wanted to warn the others... but how? I take a deep breath, and I know I must make a choice. Do I go quiet and stealthy, Or balls out guns blazin'?


End file.
